Under the management of recent captain Shikhar Dhawan, Punjab Kings are all set to start their marketing campaign for the upcoming version of Indian Premier League (IPL) in opposition to Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday. Led by the veteran opening batter Dhawan, the Kings can be guided by World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss, as they eye their maiden IPL title. PBKS can even preserve excessive hopes from England all-rounder Sam Curran, who turned the most expensive purchase with a sum of Rs 18.50 crore at IPL auctions 2023.

The workforce will miss the service of star pacer Kagiso Rabada within the first sport as he’s on nationwide obligation. In his absence, Arshdeep Singh may have extra obligations on his shoulders. However, PBKS are prone to rope in Nathan Ellis within the taking part in XI to fill the void of Rabada.

PBKS can even be lacking Liam Livingstone of their first sport and this may see their new recruit Sikandar Raza getting an opportunity to characteristic within the taking part in XI. He was purchased for Rs 50 lakh at IPL auctions 2023.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan and Jitesh Sharma are the star batters on the middle-order of PBKS.

The workforce had completed on the sixth spot final season and it could undoubtedly hope for an improved present this season. Inconsistency has damage Punjab badly through the years and Bayliss must discover a option to optimise the efficiency of a squad that appears formidable on paper. Punjab completed sixth previously 4 seasons and reached their solely last in 2014.

Punjab Kings Predicted XI vs Kolkata Knight Riders:

Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar